Brothers
by Falling Angels
Summary: Please forgive me... Sasuke. Some 'sorry's cannot be said. -OneShot-


Disclaimer: Do I have to? I don't own Naruto or Itachi would not be freaking dead. –sniffles-

A/N: This is my first Naruto Fanfic, so please give me any comments you might have. It was a random thought I had and well I just wrote down and yay now its here. I hope you won't be bored to death, so enjoy!

**Brothers**

"Nii-San!"

"Hmm?" The person in question slowed his pace and looked over his shoulder, raising his eyebrows as he saw a young bundle of energy hurtling towards him.

"Sasuke?" A hint of a smile appeared on his face as he took in his brother's appearance. Dirty, with jet black hair that stubbornly stuck up at the back of his head and determined dark eyes staring at him accusingly.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke pouted, trying to catch his breath. "You said you'd- OW!" He was cut off as Itachi poked him customarily on his forehead.

"Sorry, Sasuke. I have to prepare for a mission." He tilted his head at his younger brother. "Some other time?"

Sasuke sighed. He had been looking forward to spending some time with his brother. "But…"

_But that's what you always say._

He stopped himself, gazing at the ground, trying to hide his disappointment. "Ok."

Itachi chuckled at his brother's innocence. He debated with himself silently for a moment before , "Well…"

Sasuke looked up eagerly.

Itachi patted him lightly on the head. "Just for a while."

"Yay!" Sasuke jumped onto his brother in glee. "You're the best!" He said happily.

"I know." He grinned at his younger brother.

_He's so happy._

Itachi felt his resolve slip slightly, gazing at Sasuke's wide smile.

_I wish I wasn't the one who has to take it all away._

_Why…?_

"Nii-san?" Itachi snapped himself out of his thoughts, as Sasuke tugged lightly on his sleeve.

"Yeah, let's go." He smirked. "Race you there."

Before Sasuke could protest, Itachi had disappeared. "Hey! That's no fair." He mumbled to himself as he sprinted as fast as he could towards the forest, where he knew Itachi would be waiting.

He smiled excitedly as he thought of what he might learn from his brother. "Maybe it'll be a new jutsu!" Sasuke hoped. He wanted to prove himself to his brother, to show him how he had improved since joining the Ninja Academy.

_I want to impress Father. _

_I want to show him I can be as good as my brother._

Sasuke slowed down as he neared the spot he and his brother used for training sometimes. He looked around for his brother. "Where is he?" He stopped. A twig snapped somewhere on his left and he whipped around, bracing himself for any attack. To his surprise, he suddenly found his eyes covered from behind and flailed around, trying to free himself.

"Boo." Itachi laughed at Sasuke's antics.

"Nii-san…" Sasuke indignantly swatted his brother away. "Don't do that." He protested, a slight flush resting on his cheeks.

"Come on, let's practice your shuriken skills." Itachi beckoned to Sasuke.

"Ok!" He ran over quickly, forgetting about his brother's teasing.

As he practiced, with his brother occasionally giving him tips and pointers, Sasuke felt happier than he had in a long time. His brother, whom he admired most and strove to be like, was helping train and had chosen to be with him, rather than be anywhere else. He narrowed his eyes at his target and focused his concentration.

_I will do my best. _

He threw a kunai at the marked target on the tree trunk, watching with satisfaction as it hit bulls-eye. Smiling in triumph, he looked at Itachi for approval, and was rewarded with a thumbs-up.

Itachi watched his little brother with his arms folded, leaning against a tree trunk.

_If only things could remain as they are now. _

He cursed his fate bitterly, closing his eyes for a moment.

Thud.

He looked up at the kunai Sasuke had thrown and nodded in encouragement to him, his heart clenching as Sasuke smiled back at him.

_He will come to hate me. _

After about two hours of training, Sasuke finally slumped against a tree, panting hard. He sat down, leaning his back against the sturdy wood of the tree trunk.

"That's enough for today." Itachi came to sit beside him.

"Nii-san." Sasuke looked up at his brother and Itachi found himself faced with two black orbs, identical to his own.

"Yes?"

"Thanks."

Itachi poked his brother's head again, eliciting an 'Ow!' from him.

"You're welcome." He smiled lightly.

Sasuke glared at him for a moment, before speaking up again. "Nii-san."

"Yes?"

Sasuke hesitated for a moment, trying to phrase his thoughts into a sentence properly. "What… What are your dreams for the future?"

Itachi stiffened.

_Of all the questions…_

He forced a smile back on his face. "Why the sudden seriousness?"

Sasuke shook his head, his dark bangs falling into his face. "I was just wondering."

His brother laughed. "You're always wondering."

He thought for a while, before saying, "I dream that, years from now, no matter where we are, you and I can still be brothers."

Sasuke, surprised, looked at him. "Really?"

Itachi nodded, before whispering a quiet "Yes."

Standing up, he gestured to his younger brother. "Come on, the sun is setting. Let's go before Mother and Father send a search party."

Sasuke, still surprised at Itachi's answer, scrambled to his feet to him.

_Brother… _

Itachi felt Sasuke come up next to him as they made their way towards the Uchiha mansion. They walked in silence until Sasuke said, "You know, I really hope that too." He smiled cheerfully at Itachi and ran on ahead of him.

_Sasuke…_

_He's so young. So innocent. So happy._

_He's just a kid._

Itachi ran a hand through his hair and sighed again, his younger brother's smile engraved in his mind.

_You will loathe me, curse me._

He looked up at the sky, in beautiful hues of red and gold.

So surreal. Unearthly.

…_You will kill me. _

He quickened his pace, the mansion coming into sight. He caught sight of Sasuke, waving to him to hurry up.

_I hope you will forgive me… One day._

"Nii-san!"

_You can hate me._

"Coming!" Itachi called back.

_I just wish you knew that… _

He went up the stairs, and allowed Sasuke to pull him towards the dining room.

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_You were the one I loved most of all._

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_-End-_

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A/N: So how was it? Review! Review!


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